Vegan Chocolate-Espresso-Raisin Delights

It’s not often that I create my own recipes, but this winner had to be shared.

According to testers, this coffee treat tastes “just like something they’d sell at Starbucks” … for a pretty penny, no doubt. Alas, their hypothetical version would neither be vegan nor organic. Plus, these pack fruits and veggies (?!) — (see second-to-last ingredient).

Caution: Will shatter coffee-lovers’ willpower. You’ve been warned!

These squares are flourless, wheat-free, and peanut-free; have very little added sugar (depending on chocolate/applesauce); are low sodium; and can be made gluten-free (GF) with GF oats and an easy barley malt swap or soy-free depending on the chocolate. They pack healthy monounsaturated fats + protein (nut butter), complex carbs + fiber (oats), antioxidants (raisins, dark chocolate), and more.

Mix all until well combined. Spoon batter evenly into an 8×8 baking dish as neatly as possible:

Just before going into the oven.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes. You will be tempted to bake them longer — like I was: went for 25 minutes — but resist because the texture will be a tad too crumbly if over-baked. For less mess, use a piece of parchment paper (with sides extending out the pan) in the bottom of your dish before adding batter and, once baked, lift the entire square out onto a cooling rack. After cooling, cut into 12 even bars. I sliced one row of cut bars in half for quick two-bite minis (see below picture) because these are pretty rich-tasting:

Cooled ‘n cut.

These bars were serendipity: in the midst of collecting ingredients for another recipe and cabinet-combing for my missing vanilla extract, I came upon a packet of Starbucks® Via® (the not-so-secret secret ingredient) that was sent as a sample long ago and knew it must be used. Vegan Chocolate-Espresso-Raisin Delights were born.

I’ve been eating low carb on the Atkins way of living for the past 5 years or so. After I started the diet, I really enjoyed the extra energy I have while eating low carb and it has increased my blood chemistry as well! I’m very thankful to Dr. Atkins. I would really recommend it to anyone looking to adopt a new healthy way of living.

lisasfoods – These definitely have a soft and chewy texture. The way I made them (a bit over-baked), they were chewy but also a little crumbly, though not overly so. After being left uncovered overnight, though, they firmed up a lot, so now they’re just perfect: minimal crumbliness, denser, and chewy (like a thin brownie). If baked at 20 mins (recommended) instead of 25 (as I did), and left to cool and firm before cutting, these will probably be perfect from the start. Report back if you try it!